This invention is directed to a measure to help control water, erosion and sediment run-off. More particularly, the invention relates to a check tube and system to control water and/or sediment flow.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 60/889,193, filed Feb. 9, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Ditch checks or check tubes are often used in areas of low elevation relative to the surrounding ground in order to slow the rate of water flow through the area. By slowing the rate of water flow, erosion can be reduced and silt is encouraged to settle in the areas of reduced water flow. Ditch checks can be made of natural inorganic materials, such as rocks, and/or natural organic materials, such as hay. Alternatively, check tubes can be manufactured using a variety of appropriate materials which may include natural and/or organic materials.
Some of the manufactured check tubes use an expanding material that significantly increases in size and weight when introduced to water. Some of the advantages of these types of check tubes are a reduction in preinstalled size and weight and simpler installation resulting from the reduced size and weight. During or after installation, when the check tube becomes wet, some or all of the material in the check tube will expand.
Check tubes with expanding material are often constructed as a hollow sleeve that is only partially filled with the expanding material. The check tube is only partially filled so as to allow for expansion of the fill material. As the check tube gets wet, the material inside expands and fills the check tube.